LG and will.i.am bring the boom to your ears with affordable buds

LG has launched two more xboom Buds earbuds as part of its ongoing collaboration with will.i.am.

The xboom Buds Lite and xboom Buds Plus bracket the current pair on the market today. However, the Lite are more affordable and the Plus are more premium.

The original xboom Buds have been fairly well reviewed – their battery life is good, the app is decent and LG's noise cancellation is effective. The new models are designed for the those who travel frequently or have active lifestyles, says LG.

LG xboom Buds Lite and Plus: key features

As with the existing Buds, will.i.am has been overseeing tuning duties to deliver what LG claims is rich bass and clear, detailed audio with minimal distortion.

Both models use graphene drivers and feature Bluetooth 5.4 with multi-point, multi-pairing and low-latency streaming, but there are key differences in their ANC and equalisation.

The Buds Lite have what LG calls "mild" ANC, which is a one-mic system with four customisable EQ modes.

In comparison, the Buds Plus have adaptive ANC, adaptive EQ and a triple-mic system.

The more premium pair also get LG's Plug & Wireless feature, which enables you to use your charging case as a Bluetooth adapter for wired sound sources, such as gym equipment and in-flight entertainment. There's LG's Uvnano sanitation tech on board too, that uses UV light to kill off bacteria.

The Buds Plus have LE Audio and Auracast support as well.

Battery life is 11.5 hours solo and 35 hours with the charging case for the Buds Lite, and a still respectable 10 hours and 30 hours respectively for the Buds Plus.

The Buds Lite are a very affordable £59.99 while the Buds Plus are £149.99.

International pricing hasn't been announced yet, but that's roughly $80 / €70 / AU$122 for the Lite and $205 / €172 / AU$305 for the Plus.

Both variants will begin rolling out to "major markets" worldwide this month, September 2025.